during the Forbes 30 Under 30 list launch party in New York City. The STOP Award is a $1 million prize open to education innovators, providers and entrepreneurs who continued to support underserved communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and who seek to expand their work in the coming year. Today, the STOP Award recognizes The Discovery Center of Springfield for providing an education experience that is the essence of the awards: Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding and Permissionless.
The team at The Discovery Center, a respected community institution that provided STEM educational activities for students, voted to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic to fill the gap in childcare services that immediately presented itself within the wider Springfield, Missouri area.
The Discovery Center plans to use the STOP Award prize to develop a new app that helps parents customize learning to their child’s unique needs, no matter which school they attend throughout the state of Missouri. It also plans to expand the existing school in Springfield, which currently operates privately, and become self-sustaining over time.
“We are so inspired by the STOP Award participants, semi-finalists, and the courage, innovation and leadership of educators from across the country who have amplified the application of their brilliance to make the lives of their students better as they faced the daunting challenges of the pandemic,” said, CEO of Hoque Global and STOP Award Supporter.
"Our STOP Award partnership with Forbes and CER has been one of the best things we’ve done in education over the past 25 years,” said, long-time education reform advocate who with her husband Jeff sought to ensure educators and organizations that learned how to quickly pivot and deliver 21st century education during Covid despite historic challenges would be recognized.